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December 7, 2011

"That the Women Be Engaged in Needlework . . ."

Elizabeth Gurney Fry, a descendant of two wealthy Quaker banking families and a minister of the Religious Society of Friends, first visited women convicts in London's Newgate Prison in 1813. This experience began a life-long pursuit to reform and improve the conditions of incarcerated women in Britain's prison system and on the ships that transported thousands of female convicts and their children to Australia, then New South Wales, as laborers.

Elizabeth Gurney Fry 1780-1845

One of Fry's early achievements was to convince authorities to institute rules at Newgate and other prisons that would govern the conduct and treatment of women convicts. These rules eventually included the segregation of men and women prisoners, the appointment of matrons to oversee the women, the education of the women and their imprisoned children, and religious instruction.

One additional rule was designed to give the women skills they could use after release from prison, and provide productive activity while incarcerated and on convict ships taking them to New South Wales. This rule read: "That the women be engaged in needlework, knitting, or any other suitable employment." The needlework skills they learned included those necessary to piece and assemble coverlets and quilts.

Fry formed a ladies society in 1817 to provide educational and religious instruction within British prisons, and to teach sewing skills to women convicts. This society later grew into The British Ladies Society for the Reformation of Female Prisoners which also provided the fabrics, wool, thread and other sewing materials needed by the women to perform needlework. This Society is thought to be the first nationwide women's organization in Britain.

Women prisoners shipped to New South Wales on convict ships had to endure approximately four months at sea, depending on the number of stops along the way and their final destination. The British Ladies Society for the Reformation of Female Prisoners supplied the sewing materials needed to occupy the women during the voyage. According to Sue Prichard's piece "Creativity and Confinement" in Quilts 1700-2010, Hidden Histories, Untold Stories (London: V&A Publishing, 2010), 95, each woman was provided with "tape, 10 yards of fabric, four balls of white cotton sewing thread, a ball each of black, red and blue thread, black wool, 24 hangs of colour threads, a thimble, 100 needles, pins, scissors and two pounds of patchwork pieces."

Many quilts and coverlets were made during passages to New South Wales but only one known transport quilt resides in a public collection--a coverlet assembled by some of the 180 women aboard the convict ship Rajah that sailed from Woodwich for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in April of 1841.

This unlined coverlet, a holding of the National Gallery of Australia, measures 325 X 337.2 cm. ﻿The description provided by the Gallery is as follows: "The 2,815 fabric pieces of the quilt are joined in the medallion or framed quilt style popular in the late 18th century in England and Ireland. The central field [...] is decorated with broderie perse or applique chintz. This is bordered by eight rows of patchwork in printed cottons, which showcase the fashion and changes in the textile printing industry at the time." The lower border contains a cross-stitch inscription dedicating the piece to "The Ladies of the convict ship committee." It reads: "This quilt worked by the convicts of the ship Rajah during their voyage to Van Diemens Land is presented as a testimony of the gratitude with which they remember their exertions for their welfare while in England and during their passage and also as a proof that they have not neglected the Ladies kind admonitions of being industrious. June 1841."

Ann Hanna Hambleton

Ann was the mother-in-law of Philena Cooper Hambleton, the subject of Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio, and the great-aunt of Senator Marcus Hanna of Ohio.

American Quilt Study Group

Do you know about the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG)? If not, you should. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to establish, sustain, and promote the highest standards for quilt related studies, to encourage these studies, and to provide opportunities to disseminate the work of both academic and non-academic researchers. Membership in the AQSG entitles one to receive Uncoverings, an annual journal of the research papers presented at AQSG's yearly Seminar, and a quarterly publication titled Blanket Statements containing research papers, notes and queries, as well as AQSG and quilt world news. In addition, an annual directory is provided that lists the names, contact information, and interests of current AQSG members--a valuable networking resource that gives access to approximately 950 fellow quilt enthusiasts. Click on the quilt block above to visit AQSG's web site and learn how to become a member. The site also provides information about the organization's annual Seminar, its publication opportunities, its Quilt Study program, and the Technical Guides and other publications available to members and the general public. AQSG is also on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Quilt-Study-Group/149056808116.

Quaker Quilts: Snapshots from an Exhibition

This pamphlet by Mary Holton Robare contains photographic and informational snapshots of quilts that were displayed in a three-day exhibit of Quaker Quilts held at Abram's Delight Museum in Winchester, Virginia, in 2014. The exhibit featured twenty-six quilts made between ca. 1840 and 2007. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Quilts and Quaker Heritage

Mary Holton Robare's book on selected quilts from an exhibition at the Virginia Quilt Museum in 2008. Click on the book to order and search by title.

Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio

In this 4th publication of the Ohio Quilt Series published by Ohio University Press, Lynda Salter Chenoweth presents the story of Philena Cooper Hambleton and the quilt made for her in Ohio in 1853 to take with her when she migrated to Iowa. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

Neighbors and Friends: Quakers in Community

Lynda Salter Chenoweth's second book based on her research into Philena's quilt tells the stories of those whose names appear on the quilt and places their lives in context. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

When This You See Remember Me

Also of interest by Mary Holton Robare. Schoolgirl Samplers of Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia. To order, click on the book, click "Store", then "Softcover Books" and search on title.

Followers

Copyright

(c) 2011-2017 Lynda Salter Chenoweth and Mary Holton Robare. Absolutely no reproduction or distribution permitted beyond one copy for personal study. For additional permissions regarding text please e-mail lchen@saber.net. All images are reproduced with permission of copyright holders. Any commercial or online use is strictly forbidden.

Lynda Salter Chenoweth

Mary Holton Robare

About Us

Lynda and Mary are quilt historians experienced in researching and publishing information about quilts made by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Their particular interest is in 19th century inscribed quilts that document Quaker families and their communities.
Lynda lives in Sonoma,California, and is a writer, a quilter, a researcher, and a member of the Board of the American Quilt Study Group. Mary lives in Winchester, Virginia, and is a writer, a researcher, and a choreographer and dance instructor.